Family WW photographs

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:FI:Genosse
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Family WW photographs

Post by :FI:Genosse » Sat Mar 11, 2006 8:17 am

Folks!

Recently my mother gave me some photographs of my grandfather being officer in WWI and WWII. He was born in 1894 and the joined the "Reichswehr" like many other young German men as a volunteer in the age of 20 in 1914.

The following picture was taken in 1917 showing him in his officer´s uniform ("Leutnant" = Second Lieutenant).

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Since Hilter-Germany was in need of every single German soldier he was drafted into the "Wehrmacht" in the age of 45 (!!!) as an "Oberleutnant" (First Lieutenant) into the a guard regiment that was responsible to watch for prisoners of war on the island of Rügen.

This picture shows him standing on the left hand side right before a group of Polish POWs.

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After the island of Rügen was overrun by the Red Army in the early months of 1945 my grandfather was captured and sent to Russia as a POW. Once arrived there he was accused of being a criminal of war - every soldier of the Wehrmacht guard personal was seen by the Soviets like that - and sentenced by a military court to term of imprisonment for lifetime. He had to do forced labour in mines and changed the prison camps within Russia for more than 10 times. One of the last camps he stayed in was in Svetlovsk behind the Ural mountains where he had to work in a lead mine.

After the Soviet leaders decided in 1955 to set a political sign of good will - West-German chancellor Konrad Adenauer declared that the FRG would join the NATO (!) - my grandfather was one of 10000 former Wehrmacht soldiers sent back home. According to my father he wasn´t the man he used to be - psycholgical broken and chronical ill (bronchitis) due to the work in the mines. He died in 1974.

Although he was lucky one ... at least he survived the two World Wars and was able to see his children and grandchildren growing up. Not many soldiers were able to do so ...

^:|
Nunc est bibendum - Let's start to drink!

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:FI:Heloego
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Wow, Frank!

Post by :FI:Heloego » Sat Mar 11, 2006 8:25 am

Thanks for sharing!

I think he was much stronger than some thought. The Gulags were no place for the weak!

Very glad he was able to return home! ^:|
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Post by Skipper » Sat Mar 11, 2006 1:56 pm

That's on hell of an amazing story!

He sounds like a real brave man.Like Helo said , the Gulag's were as bad if not worse than the Nazi concentration camps.

Skipper ^:|
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Post by Beowolff » Sat Mar 11, 2006 3:10 pm

nice of you to share the history, Gen. thanks.

yeah, no doubt he was a brave man---and as already mentioned, a tough one too. where is that island you mentioned where he guarded prisoners, and what sort of prisoners did he guard? ie, American/Brit POWs? Russian POWs? just curious.

i have another German friend whose dad went through similiar circumstances... fought (as a VERY young man in WW1---then flew Ju-88s in WW2) was captured and also forced to work in mines by the Russians. (Zeke---you remember, Sprite, don't you?) later he was released and managed to get back to West Berlin and then continued his old family business and did well for himself....but as Sprite told me, the horrors of war had totally changed him.

well, again, thanks for the photos and history. i have no doubt your grandfather was a good man. i am sorry that he had to go through so much pain and suffering.

a respectful salute... for him... and for you!

^:)

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Post by :FI:Genosse » Sat Mar 11, 2006 5:17 pm

Beowolff wrote:where is that island you mentioned where he guarded prisoners, and what sort of prisoners did he guard? ie, American/Brit POWs? Russian POWs? just curious.
More information about "Rügen" you´ll find here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCgen" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I´m not sure about the nationality of the prisoners though ... I guess most of them were soldiers from East-Europe ... no information available about that, Beo!

:(
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Post by :FI:Snoop Baron » Sat Mar 11, 2006 5:23 pm

Thanks for sharing Genosse ^:|
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Post by :FI:WillieOFS » Sat Mar 11, 2006 6:20 pm

Fascinating yet sad story.

Your grandfather was a HELL of a man to have gone through what he did.

:beer: ^:|

Thanks for sharing.
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:FI:Fenian
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Excellent bit of history to share Frank!

Post by :FI:Fenian » Sat Mar 11, 2006 7:33 pm

I hope you had the opportunity to meet him when you were little.

Tough man indeed!

It's funny you should post that, I spent Friday at work researching a great grand-uncle who died in WW1 at the Somme as a Lance-Corporal in the Durham Light Infantry. Sent off for some books about this battle and the regiment yesterday in fact.....

Here's to our history and more importantly, to our future!

^:|

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Re: Excellent bit of history to share Frank!

Post by :FI:IceFrog » Sun Mar 12, 2006 12:46 am

Great stuff Gen
loved to even hear more :!:
my friend's father would tell him stories of being a prisoner in a Russian POW camp, not an pleasure camp for sure. One that I remember is when they gave them a shower, stripped naked out in the snow then being wash down with ice cold water
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Post by :FI:Bluebell » Mon Mar 13, 2006 12:27 pm

I had an uncle with the Paras during WWII and thats about all I know of that.
Mind you, I have some pictures of my dad running away from national service and hiding from the MP's when they came to pick him up :) .




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Post by Sapper-FIN » Mon Mar 13, 2006 12:45 pm

Interesting stuff there Gen!

Not many returned, after beeing a "guest" for soviets for years...
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Post by arne_and » Tue Mar 14, 2006 10:05 pm

Agree with previous posts.. ^:|
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Post by :FI:Igor » Wed Mar 15, 2006 2:26 pm

Frank,
Interesting story. Your Grandfather had to be tough to survive the soviet camps.
My Grandfather joined General Pershing's army and fought against Poncho Villa in Mexico. Didn't come home for fifty years; needless to say, my Grandmother had remarried.

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Post by Baderslegs » Sat Mar 18, 2006 5:47 pm

My Grandfather joined General Pershing's army and fought against Poncho Villa in Mexico. Didn't come home for fifty years; needless to say, my Grandmother had remarried.
Women!! fickle or what?

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